CHALLENGE
Heinkenszand with its population of around 5.400 inhabitants is the core of Borsele municipality and also its administrative centre. The municipality has a rural character and agriculture has always played there a prominent role. The historical farms which can be still found there and which have a strong local tint are the witnesses of the agrarian past. However the expansion of agriculture and development of the area such as enlarging of the towns is a burden for the agricultural heritage of historical value. The farm ‘t Hof Stenevate built in 1925 is a monumental example of agrarian development which due to enlarging the centre of Heinkenszand was absorbed by the village. Borsele Municipality took the farm over in 1996 from a property developer with the goal of maintaining it and presenting the history of the region. The farm is important from the historical perspective and it is also an attractive eye-catcher from one of the approach roads to Heinkenszand, opposite the town hall.

AIM OF THE PROJECT
Borsele Municipality has decided to keep the monumental farmhouse as a characteristic building in Heinkenszand. The aim is to give the farm which passed into disuse a new social function to the benefit of the town hall (as council chamber and wedding room) which will maintain the building for the inhabitants of Borsele municipality.

DESCRIPTION
The farm ’t Hof Stenevate has been partly restored to its original form and partly transformed in the contemporary and rigid style into a council chamber and wedding room. The starting point was the size of the barn and the project aimed at maintaining the feeling of openness. Between the wedding room to the left of the entrance and the council chamber to the right a staircase was built. It leads to the public tribune which has the form of an entresol. What is more a foyer with a kitchen, refreshment room and sanitary facilities was built in an extension behind and on the side of the barn. Behind the farmhouse there is a patio. The materials which were used in an innovative way (wood and glass) refer to the plain use of materials in farm architecture. The garden at the front and on the sides is also arranged in a rigid and simple way but it refers to the past.

Actor / Lead Management / Cooperation
Borsele Municipality